How your children will get

the IB Diploma…

…without going insane (and

taking you with them).

So this is what I tell them…

(and you).

That’s me as Socrates…

Academic Requirements:

IB Courses in all academic areas Group 1: Studies in Language and Literature

Group 2: Language Acquisition

Group 3: Individuals and Societies

Group 4: Sciences

Group 5: Mathematics

Group 6: The Arts (or an Elective

from Groups 2, 3, or 4)

“erm…”

Academic Requirements:

During Junior and Senior year,

students must take:

3 Higher Level IB Courses (HL)

240 instructional hours over 2 years

3 Standard Level IB Courses (SL)

150 hours instructional hours in 1 year

or over 2 years

At least 1 SL must go over 2 years

IB Subject Grades:

Grades are awarded on a 1-7 point

scale at the end of the course

The grade is determined by

achievement on:

Internal Assessments

Graded by the course teacher

External Assessments

Graded by external examiners

Awarding of the IB Diploma

Students must:

Accrue a minimum 24 of 45

possible points in their 6 IB courses

over the 2 year program

IB Diploma Requirements:

The Core

Theory of Knowledge (TOK)

The Extended Essay (EE)

Creativity-Activity-Service (CAS)

Theory of Knowledge

A 2-year course during Junior and

Senior year

Assessments

The TOK Presentation

Internally Assessed (IA)

The TOK Paper

Externally Assessed (EA)

Supervised independent

coursework in other areas of study

The Extended Essay

A 4000-word independent research

investigation

In a major academic subject area

Under the supervision of a school-

based mentor

External Assessment

Creativity-Activity-Service (CAS)

“A weekly commitment

over 18 months”

The beginning of

the academic year

as Juniors

through

Mid-April of Senior year

CAS Learning Outcomes:

Undertaking new challenges

Planning and initiative

Collaboration skills

Perseverance and commitment

Engagement with global issues

Considering ethical implications

Developing new skills

CAS Is and Isn’t:

Is: An opportunity to grow

A balance of C, A, and S

A chance

to take risks

(in a good way)

CAS Is and Isn’t:

Isn’t: Only one area of pursuit

Just showing up and not

engaging fully

Random or

haphazard

“What was I thinking?”

they say.

“It’s really quite possible,” I say.

“And I KNOW. Trust me,” I say.

(And, for the most part, they do.)

I Ask the DC’s to Consider:

Why am I in the IB Diploma Program?

What do I want to get out of it?

What are my strengths coming in?

What are my weaknesses?

And, very importantly…

…Who is in control of

my academic future?(They need to think carefully about this last one…)

A Key Fact:

The Hexagon is our friend.

Group 1

Group 2 Group 3

Group 4 Group 5

Group 6

Two More Facts and

One Important Guiding Principle

IB is not “a cross to bear”…

It is an opportunity

to explore,

to engage,

and to extend.

(And it’s not supposed to be easy, or

everyone would do it.)

“OK,” they say. “Give me

something I can use.”

And I give them…

Strategy!

6 Academic Areas (see your Hexagon)

A Possible 7 points in each area…

The Math: a Possible 42

And then there’s BONUS POINTS!!

TOK and EE: Up to 3 EXTRA points!

Yes!

Strategy (cont’d)

Uh…Yeah:

TOK and EE are required and you only get bonus

points.

We’ll come back

to that…

Hunh?

Strategy (cont’d):

So… You can get 45 points total.

But… You only NEED 24 points.

I’m not good at the math, but how hard could

that be?

Hmmm??

Well…

Students must also have:

A minimum total of 12 points overall

for the 3 HL’s

No “Failing Conditions” for any DP

Subject or Core work

“Doh!”

“Wait! What if I do have fewer than 24 total?”

Easy: You must gain those

crucial BONUS POINTS

No, not if you cover your bases…

Covering your Bases:

Now, we look at a Matrix.

(No, not that one… This one’s even cooler.)

The Matrix!TOK →

EE ↓

A B C D E No Grade

N

A 3 3 2 2Failing

Condition

Failing

Condition

B 3 2 2 1Failing

Condition

Failing

Condition

C 2 2 1 0Failing

Condition

Failing

Condition

D 2 1 0 0Failing

Condition

Failing

Condition

EFailing

Condition

Failing

Condition

Failing

Condition

Failing

Condition

Failing

Condition

Failing

Condition

No Grade

N

Failing

Condition

Failing

Condition

Failing

Condition

Failing

Condition

Failing

Condition

Failing

Condition

A Logical Question:

“So how much do the EE and TOK

matter?”

Maybe quite a bit. Let’s do the math!

Some Math:

Student A: Does she get the Diploma?

Course: Grade (out of a possible 7):

English A1 HL 5

Biology HL 5

Mathematics HL 4

Spanish B SL 6

World Religions SL 6

Physics SL 6

TOK [B], EE [A] 3

Total = 35

Some More Math (Whee.):

Student B: Does he get the Diploma?Course: Grade (out of a possible 7):

English A1 HL 4

Biology HL 3

History-20th Century HL 5

Mathematics SL 3

Spanish B SL 4

Chemistry SL 4

TOK [B], EE [B] 2

Total = 25Victory!

Some More Math (Yow.):

Student D: Does he get the Diploma?Course: Grade (out of a possible 7):

English A1 HL 5

Biology HL 4

Mathematics HL 3

World Religions SL 7

Spanish AB SL 4

Economics SL 5

TOK [B], EE [C] 2

Total = 30

Last of the Math (Thank you.):

Student E: Does he get the Diploma?Course: Grade (out of a possible 7):

English A1 HL 5

Biology HL 3

History-20th Century HL 4

Economics SL 4

Spanish B SL 4

Math SL 3

TOK [C], EE [D] 0

Total = 23

“OK… Now What?”

The IB Student must develop:

ORGANIZATION SKILLS—

Managing time and tasks effectively

Use Calendars and Reminders

Plan ahead

Spend the right amount of time on tasks great and

small

Avoiding procrastination

Goal-setting

”Enduring” vs. “Excelling”

“GPA obsession” vs. “IB Diploma awarding”

The IB Student must develop:

AFFECTIVE SKILLS—

Managing state of mind Choose your attitude

Self-motivation Note the word “SELF”…

Resilience Do you have “GRIT”?

Mindfulness Focus on the task at hand

Take time for yourself…

Lastly…

…And

Know the IB Diploma Program…

…and your GOAL:

The IB Diploma!!

(Sure, the bling at Graduation,

too.)

And you get to say:

Good-bye! Good luck!

Don’t come back.

Questions?